St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-04
ADULTERATED WINES.
The New York Law to Prevent
Their Manufacture.

NEW. YORK, Sept. 2.-The new law
against the adulteration of wine went
into effect in this state yesterday. 1t
absolutely forbids the manufacture or
sale of any wine that has been treated
with any one of dozen different dele
ferrous substances, and leaves water and
sugar, with grape brandy, also, the only
things that can legally be added to the
pure juice of the grape in the manufact-
ure of wine. The law includes car
bonic acid in the list of forbidden adul-
terants, and, therefore, prohibits the
use OF the carbonating or ''new process"
method OF making champagne. The
difference between the new and the old,
or French process, is that the new way is
to manufacture the carbonic acid gas sep
arately and force it into the wine, just
as it is forced into soda water, while
by the old method the gas is forced in
the by the natural process of fer
mentation. Expert authority is quoted
in support of the statement that it is
impossible for chemist to tell by anal
ysiS whether the gas in any sparkling
wine is the natural or artificial product.
Imprisonment for year, 1000 fine and
an additional fine of 81 gallen are pen
altieS that may be imposed for violation
of the law. There are about dozen
firms in the state engaged in the manu-
facture of the ''new process" wine.
Most of them are in this city. They
held conference last week and decided
to continue the business as usual. and
to unite in making a legal fight if any
attempt is made to enforce that part of
the law. They claim that the words
''carbonic acid'' were slipped into the
bill in the interest of foreign wine men
and manufacturers in this country who
use the French method.
AT the Office of ii. Il. Dewey g. Son.
on Fulton street. it was said:
The law merely anticipates our action, as
we were about adopting the old process any
how, on account of the bad name some I'M
prnclpled wine concocters had given to the
carbonating method by adulterating their
product For that reason we are not in the
combination to fight the law, but we
believe with the other wine men that there is
neither Justice nor validity in the prohibit
ton OF the use of earbonic acid. AS for the
rest of the law, we heartily favor it. It's as
much safeguard tor reputable manufac-
turers as for the public. The 'gauIizing'' Of
wine by the stretching of it with water and
sugar, which is not dangerous adulteration,
can be continued, but the "gaulized" pro-
duct must be labeled at its true value. The
law says letters half an inch high must be
used In marking bottles as containing
pure, "half" or made wines, according
as Ihey nave 70, oo or 10 per cent. respect
lively OF the water or sugar i'll them. AS for
regular injurious authorizations, that is
stopped altogether and you have no idea
how much of a stoppage that is. Why, they
make it nowadays without particle Of
grape juice in it. We have just received from
Portugal proposition to supply us with
secret coloring matter. The proposition is
all figured out for us to show that with an
amount Of their stuff, costing S13 in our
money, we can turn L $50 gallons of white
wine into claret. They sent a sample with
the offer. But just so much of it as could be
taken up on the point of a knife blade turned
a glass of water in an instant into the love-
lest claret-colored liquid you ever saw